Vince Russo on the problems with Sasha Banks and Sonya Deville's WWE characters (Exclusive)
Former WWE writer Vince Russo believes some of the company’s female Superstars need more storyline direction, including Sasha Banks and Sonya Deville.
Banks is preparing to defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship against 2021 Royal Rumble winner Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 37. Deville, meanwhile, has not competed in a match since August 2020. She is currently being booked as an on-screen assistant to WWE official Adam Pearce.
Russo, who worked as WWE’s head writer in the late 1990s, spoke to Dr. Chris Featherstone on SK Wrestling’s Writing With Russo. Regarding Banks’ “The Boss” nickname, he said it has still never been explained why she is known by that name.
“I know I’m not young and relevant and I’m not into hip hop and I’m not into all this stuff, but it just always bothered me. Like Sasha Banks is The Boss. I know The Boss is slangy and The Boss means something on the street. Well, bro, obviously I don’t know what The Boss means on the street because you’ve never shown me.”
Watch the video above to hear Vince Russo’s thoughts on more female WWE Superstars. He discussed Billie Kay, Naomi, and the famous punch that Nia Jax gave Becky Lynch before WWE Survivor Series 2018.
Vince Russo on Sonya Deville’s booking in WWE
Vince Russo thinks WWE writers have not done enough to make fans care about female Superstars’ storylines. With regards to Sonya Deville, he believes her real-life stalking case should have been mentioned on WWE television.
“I mean, bro, here’s a perfect example, and I mean I’m sure there were some things they couldn’t do legally, but there are some things they could do legally. Bro, when Sonya Deville went through that whole stalking… Bro, if you tell us that story on TV, we’re gonna care for that woman.”
In August 2020, a man was arrested and charged after he was found on Deville’s property. It has since emerged that he had been stalking her online for several years. Full details on the attempted kidnapping can be found here.
Please credit SK Wrestling’s Writing With Russo and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.